Bülent Eczacıbaşı
(*1949), Turkey
Support culture and art
Bülent Eczacıbaşı is an art maecenas. He studied at a German grammar school in Istanbul, and later graduated with a chemical engineering degree from universities in London and Massachusetts. He is one of the top 50 European entrepreneurs, and the uncrowned king of the Turkish pharmaceutical industry. Thanks to his successful business activities, he is able to provide a considerable amount of support to artists and art venues. He chairs the Foundation for Modern Arts, founded by his father in 1973. His most important philanthropic achievement was the foundation and financial support of “Istanbul Modern”, the Museum of Modern Art in Istanbul. It is a renowned cultural centre on the shore of the Sea of Marmara with buildings renovated from customs warehouses.
